LICHMAN, Anna (1876-1929)

LICHMAN

Posted By: Hancock Co Genealogical Society (email)
Date: 11/12/2016 at 23:12:15

While returning from the Algona celebration at 3 a.m. July 5th, George Steil and Kenneth Crook, two Algona young men, accompanied by two ladies, figured in an auto accident that caused the death of Mrs. Peter Lichman of Britt. The young men flees from the scene of the tragedy but were later apprehended. Mrs. Lichman died in the Algona hospital.

source: Graettinger Times, 18 Jul 1929, page 5, col 3

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Held To Jury After Accident
George Steil, Jr., Held for Failure to Report Accident at Britt.
Wife Of Beet Weeder Killed.
Thrown from Car as it Struck the Guard Fence and Came Down on Passing Car.

Mrs. Peter Lichman, wife of a beet weeder living a mile east of Britt, was killed in an accident early last Friday morning. As a result of the accident, George Steil, Jr., son of George Steil, Sr., who farms four miles west of Algona, has been bound over to the grand jury for failure to report the accident in which he was a participant.

It seem that young Steil, with Kenneth Cook, son of T. R. Cook, a farmer living north of Algona, and some friends were returning from Clear Lake where they had spent the Fourth of July, and Steil was driving Cook's Ford roadster. The accident happened between Hutchins and Britt as the Lichman car was approaching a small bridge on its way to Britt. Evidence shows that for some reason the Lichman car began going toward the ditch about 175 feet from the place where the accident happened. The car, it seems, was going at a good rate of speed, and when it hit the guard fence, one of the posts was completely clipped off and a second one was splintered. It is understood that the Lichman car went off on the north side of the road, and as it struck the second post, the back end was thrown into the air and came down on the Cook car as it was passing by.

All evidence would indicate that the Cook car had not crashed into the Lichman car, judging from the condition of the bumper, running board, lights, etc. The Lichman car took off one of the glass windshield wings, rubbed along the hood and put a dent in the top of the fender of the Cook car as it came down. The windshield was badly cracked but did not splinter.

Mrs. Lichman was thrown from the car to the pavement and was so badly cut that she died from loss of blood, according to physicians' report. Had a deep cut on her leg been bound in time, physicians think she might have recovered. No one went back to help the Linchmans, but was badly damaged.

The two boys stopped their car and went back to help the Linchman, but other travelers were already placing Mrs. Linchman in a car to take her to Britt for medical aid, and so the boys returned to Algona.

From all the evidence it appears that the boys, Steil and Cook, were not to blame for the accident, but because of failure to report the accident, Steil who was driving, is being held to the grand jury.

source: Algona Upper Des Moines, 10 Jul 1929, page 16, col 1-3